Grading pro golf’s best for 2006
The following is written by William K. Wolfrum from TravelGolf.com.
As we travel slightly past the mid-point of the professional golf tours, it’s a perfect time to reflect on the players that have wowed and disappointed us thus far in 2006:
Best male golfer: Tiger Woods. Just to mess with Phil Mickelson’s head a little more.
Best male golfer (really): Phil Mickelson. Okay, the guy channeled his inner idiot on the 72nd hole at Winged Foot in the U.S. Open. But a second-place Open finish wedges in nicely with a Masters win and the top spot on the money list. Add to that his charitable work with Birdies for the Brave and a smokin’-hot wife, and Lefty has been the man.
Best female golfer: Lorena Ochoa. Annika Sorenstam’s U.S. Women’s Open victory puts her right back in the chase for player of the year and tops on the money list. But Ochoa has spent the year just blistering the LPGA Tour, as the Mexicana has 10 top-10 finishes in 14 events entered. Look for the former University of Arizona star to continue her excellence.
Biggest disappointment - female: Paula Creamer. Two victories and a Solheim Cup berth in 2005 seemed like a launching pad for Creamer. Now, she’s sitting at No. 13 on the money list, which is just mediocre for someone of her skills. The “Paula Creamer is better than Michelle Wie” arguments are now on permanent hiatus.
Biggest disappointment - male: John Daly. Remember when people started whispering that Daly could be a captain’s pick for the Ryder Cup team? They aren’t anymore, as Daly sits 167th on the money list and appears to be ready to make the career switch to full-time loon.
Best golfing nation: Australia. Geoff Ogilvy and Karrie Webb have won majors. Two Aussies are in the top 5 of the money list. Plus, Anna Rawson is Australian. Add the Socceroos to the mix and it’s been a heady year Down Under.
The only golfer that really matters: Michelle Wie. The phrase “I’m not a golf fan, I’m a Michelle fan” is suddenly in vogue. Mi-Wie failing to qualify for the men’s U.S. Open earned 100,000 times the press coverage and fan interest that Ochoa has received for her entire marvelous campaign. Still no wins, but Nike and her other sponsors are doing back flips over her consistent top-5 finishes, that keep her on TV all weekend. We are watching the future, and this far, the future is looking pretty darned good.
Golf Humor
Top Ten Things That Went Through Geoff Ogilvy’s Mind After Winning The U.S. Open
10. “This is one of those things you never forget, like seeing John Daly in the locker room naked”
9. “I wish I hadn’t put all my money on Phil Mickelson”
8. “Even I’ve never heard of me”
7. “Now I can take a vacation from the grind of playing golf all day”
6. “Crap - - I’m gonna have to go on Letterman”
5. “After all these years, I can finally use my ‘World’s Greatest Golfer’ mug”
4. “I can quit my day job at Outback Steakhouse”
3. “What would Retief Goosen do?”
2. “I hope this victory isn’t overshadowed by America’s World Cup excitement”
1. “Thank you, Balco!”
The Late Show with David Letterman, June 19, 2006
Hello, My Name Is…
The following article is by Dan Galvin, and can be found in the June 19th edition of ESPN The Magazine.
Have you seen your favorite PGA player lately? Neither have we. Since Lefty slipped on his second green blazer in April, he’s played in three Tour events. Ernie Els? Four. Tiger? Zero. Now more than ever, the Tour’s top players are hitting the majors, cherry-picking their favorites from lesser tourneys and leaving the rest to the rest of the field. That’s bad for golf fans and TV ratings, but with fat appearance fees, huge purses and a 44-week regular-season schedule, what incentive is there for the big guns to play more events? Good question. Here are a few answers.
1. SET AN EVENT MINIMUM Jeff Maggert won the St. Jude Classic with a field devoid of the top seven players in the World Golf Rankings. Don’t know Maggert? How about Arron Oberholser, Rod Pampling, Stephen Ames, Chris Couch or Brett Wetterrich? All 2006 winners, all golfers you probably don’t know much about. When David Toms is the top-ranked player at a tounrey like the St. Jude, it’s a fair bet that many folks at home won’t bother tuning in. Why not mandate that all players enter a minimum number of tourneys each year (with exemptions for injuries) to retain their cards?
2. LIMIT APPEARANCE FEES Tiger made more cash (a reported $3 million) for showing up at the Dubai Desert Classic in February than most players will make all year. The PGA doesn’t allow its tourneys to offer appearance fees, but that hasn’t stopped the European Tour and other nonofficial events from using big checks to lure top players. And there’s very little the PGA can do to stop them. What American officials can do, though, is ban appearance fee junkets during the regular season. After all, 78 players made over $1 million on Tour last year while only 30 of them won tournaments. Of course, the pros will argue that the 10-month-plus season doesn’t leave a lot of time for moonlighting, which brings us to our third helpful suggestion…
3. SHORTEN THE SCHEDULE The 2006 PGA Tour teed off in Hawaii on Jan. 5 and will wrap up in Atlanta on Nov. 5. Add in the “challenge season” that runs through December, and you’ve got golf fatigue; most players are ready to hang it up after the PGA in August. (Vijay aside, the top players enter fewer than half the events on the schedule.) That’s why Tour commissioner Tim Finchem has instituted a Championship Series, to start next season. It will begin with the Mercedes Open, on Jan. 4, and run through the Tour Championship, on Sept. 16, with a $10 million bonus awarded to the regular-season points champion. By defining a shorter regular season- and by requiring and/or incentivizing the biggest stars to actually compete in it- the Tour and its tourney sponsors might not need Michelle Wie to liven things up.
Tips About Tipping
Ever wonder how much you should tip the beverage cart? Bag Drops? Cart Jockeys?
About.com golf guide Brent Kelley discusses this in his article: http://golf.about.com/cs/beginnersguide/a/golftipping.htm
Some highlights from the article include the following tips:
- Tipping is unusual at munipal courses
- If the place you are golfing does not have a dress code, you probably won’t have to tip
- Valet (if available) - $3 is a good baseline amount
- Cart Return - a couple bucks, $5 if your clubs are cleaned
- Starter - in general, no tip is neccessary. Brent discusses some exceptions in his article
- Caddies - 50% of the caddie fee. If there is a Caddie Master, a 20% tip will ensure a good caddie
- Forecaddies - $50-100 per group
- Beverage Cart - $1 tip for a $3 purchase is typical
Check out Brent’s article for a more complete list of tips.